Beulah Baptist Church is one of the partners of Second Harvest Food Bank. Second Harvest Food Bank was founded in 1981 and their vision is to assist with healthy and hunger free communities (e.g. Feeding America, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C.). Their mission is to provide essential food through a network of partners, while educating and engaging our communities in the elimination and its causes (e.g. Feeding America, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C.). In Forsyth County alone they have over 29 partners in feeding the communities.
Our local WXII News 12 partnered with the Second Harvest Food Bank to do a holiday drive that started November 21, 2018 and will end on December19, 2018 (WXII News 12 November 2018). The donations that are collected during the drive will help the people in need across the Triad. The Second Harvest Food Bank provides over 31 million meals for children, families and others throughout the network (e.g. Feeding America, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C.). With every 1$ that is donated Second Harvest Food Bank provide 7 meals (e.g. Feeding America, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C.).
Beulah Baptist Church is where I volunteer at. They help serve our community with providing food to those who are in need. These non-profit agencies support low- income families and people are struggling. They provide everything from bags of groceries, personal hygiene items, boxes of food in case of an emergency and they also assist with financial assistance with pay certain bills. Most of the organizations such as Beulah Baptist Church rely also on donations and volunteers. Some the things that are donated are money and clothing. Brenda Richardson is the manager and director of Beulah Baptist Church Food Bank. The food pantry is open every third Thursday to bring in donations, food and clothing. Every third Saturday is when they disburse it to the ones who are in need in the community from the hour 11:00 am to 1 pm.
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In order for a food pantry to run accordingly there are many things that have to take place. The director/manager makes sure they keep record of how many families can come each month, how much food is disbursed to each family and keeping the pantry stocked with food. They are also responsible for organizing and instructing the volunteers. The director/ manger is a person that wears’ many hats. The director/manager also they have to make sure that the food bank passes inspection and that the environment is safe. The compliance coordinator from Second Harvest Food Bank name Crystal Redd came to make sure everything was running correctly such as correct paper work, checking expiration dates, policies and procedures. Some things that the volunteers are responsible for are keeping the pantry clean, organized, who are responsible for the task of the day, like food storage, accessing new clients and who is in charge of the intake. It is very important to make sure you have enough food on the shelves of the food pantry to assist those in need.
The first day I volunteered everyone was nice. They made feel welcome as a volunteer. Most of the people that volunteered were church members who had retired. I observed and joined them as they stocked the food and personal hygiene products that is kept in a locked room. Most food pantries screen the individuals that they are disbursing food to. As I observed the screening the volunteers was very friendly and welcoming. They used positive language by not making their clients feel ashamed or embarrassed. They moved quickly as possible and made sure they help provide resources as well. The volunteers, director/manager should be comfortable with dealing with people directly.
The food pantry gathers basic information about the clients and their food needs. They also have a procedure where they determine who is eligible and who is not eligible and how frequent they can return for food and financial assistance. This is also a way for the food pantry to keep records of how many clients they serve. The resources they are offered are where to apply for food stamps, WIC, and financial assistance with pay your bills. Working at the food bank was a great experience. Volunteers at the pantry are trained to interview the clients. The food pantry goal is to assist families for a period of time. The volunteers were very pleasant and sincere in what they were doing. They also communicated with their clients on a personal professional level. It seems they had created an environment that made their clients feel welcomed.
Before volunteering at Beulah Baptist Church food bank, I never really focused on how blessed to provide for my family as a single mom, how we waist food at times and take things for granted. Working with the volunteers has made me look at things differently in life. I was impressed with on how they ran the food pantry, treated their clients with dignity and respect. It warmed my heart being able to assist those who are in need. Volunteering at the food pantry help me understand the challenges that people in our community are facing. It helped me get to know people and connect with them in a productive way that helps the community. When the clients are arriving they are not given a choice of what type of food they may receive but are given a variety of food to choose from.
I went home and explained to my daughter how we should value the food, clothing and shelter we have every day. It is a relief to a parent or person to provide food for their family and not be stressed. Food pantries in the community helps relieve stress of how are you can provide the next meal for your family. After talking with her she is interested in volunteering at the food pantry. I now know that if I take the time to offer hours of my time to volunteer at the food pantry I would make a difference in some ones’ life. I would love to volunteer at Beulah Baptist Church again. They were so appreciative of me volunteering they asked me if I will be returning.
My daughter is in the girl scouts and we are now planning how we can build small mailbox type food, book and clothing pantries in neighborhoods. We are planning to return to volunteer at the food pantry at Beulah Baptist Church. The things I would to do to make service more effective is to work on opening the food pantry more. They only serve to the community every third Saturday of the month. I believe they could better the community if there was a day during they could open as well. Other than that I wouldn’t change a thing. It was very well organized and things moved along very efficiently. It opened on time and closed on time. They were able to provide service to the clients that had appointments.
